Acceptance
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: A look at how Artemis could have ended up at Stanford. There's nothing wrong with accepting a little bit of help. Contains "Uncle" Ollie being supportive and traces of Spitfire.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Some much needed "family" time with Ollie and Artemis. This is just how I think Artemis could have ended up at Stanford. It starts about six months after season 1 ends. It won't be too long, maybe three or four chapters in total. _

**Acceptance**

When the police finished loading the would-be criminals into the back of the squad car, Green Arrow turned to look at her. "Nice shooting, Artemis," he praised. "I can see you're improving." The older archer gave her a genuine smile. There was pride in his expression. Artemis felt her cheeks warm.

"Thanks," she replied. "Anything I should work on before next week?" Despite her mentor always having words of encouragement for her, Artemis had always dealt better with criticism. It came from her father's training.

Green Arrow continued to grin at his protégé. "You're doing just great, kiddo," he answered. "Keep up with your training regimen and you'll be in good shape." In the distance, the Star City clock tower struck midnight. "It's late," he said. "I don't feel comfortable letting you walk through Gotham at this hour. You should come back with me."

Artemis was surprised at the older archer's offer. It wasn't one that came along a whole lot. She was fine with that. She figured being able to follow in his footsteps was enough and if he wanted to keep his personal life separate, that was completely understandable.

On the other hand, it _was_ late and it would be even later in Gotham. Artemis didn't relish the idea of walking the streets of her hometown at this time of night. Who knew what might be lurking on the streets of Gotham? It wasn't that Artemis couldn't handle herself. She knew she could. But it was nice of her fake uncle to be concerned for her. "OK," she agreed at last. "I'll need to call my mom though."

"Not a problem," the hero said cheerfully. He led the younger archer through the city to where the car was parked. Artemis had once heard him call it the "Arrowcar" but she wasn't sure if he had been kidding or not.

As Ollie maneuvered the car through the now peaceful streets of Star City, Artemis called her mother and told her the plan. Paula was happy to hear about Green Arrow's considerate offer and lectured her daughter about making sure to thank him for it. "I will, Mom," Artemis promised. "I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

The young heroine hung up the phone and glanced up at her mentor. "She said I'm supposed to thank you."

Ollie grinned. "No problem, Arty."

Artemis groaned. "Please don't call me that," she said. "I just got Wally to stop saying it."

"And how is that boyfriend of yours?" the Emerald Archer questioned. "He's treating you right, I hope." There was a bit of a subtle growl to his voice that Artemis didn't miss.

"He's good," the teenager replied. "And he is treating me right. I'd kick his ass if he didn't."

Green Arrow chuckled as he turned the car through the gates of his mansion. "That's my girl," he said. Instead of a growl, now the younger blond could detect a hint of pride. There was no denying that it was nice to have someone be proud of her.

Ollie parked the car in the garage and led her into the house. "The bed has clean sheets," he told her as she followed him up the winding staircase to the second storey landing. "Night, kiddo," he continued. "See you in the morning."

"Night, Ollie," Artemis replied. She turned to the pristine white door at the far end of the hallway and twisted the knob. She dumped her gear on the floor and helped herself to a pair of pajamas from the bottom dresser drawer. She shook out her long blond hair from its ponytail and went to brush her teeth.

The archer had just settled into the massive bed with her phone when there was a knock on her door. Ollie poked his head in. He cleared his throat, causing his protégé to look up from the text she had been writing to Wally. "Hey, Artemis," he began. He sounded a little nervous. "Do you want to go to breakfast later? I want to talk to you about something."

The teenager definitely hadn't been expecting that. She briefly wondered if she was in some kind of trouble. "Sure," she said finally. It wasn't often that he requested to talk to her outside of heroing. Artemis had to admit that she was curious.

The Emerald Archer grinned. "Great," he said. "See you then." He stepped out of the room and shut the door behind him once more.

Artemis looked down at her phone and erased the half-finished message. Instead she wrote, _'Have to meet later than we planned. GA wants to talk. He's taking me to breakfast.'_

Wally's reply came about five second after Artemis hit the send button. _'Warn me if he wants to kill me, please. I'm too young to die.'_

Artemis rolled her eyes. _'I don't think it's about you.'_ She smiled slightly to herself and added, _'Go to sleep, Baywatch.'_

'_Will do. Love you babe.'_

She set her phone aside and closed her eyes. She fell asleep wondering what Ollie wanted to talk to her about so about so badly.

0o0o0o0

Later that morning, Artemis took a long shower and dressed in more of the clothes from the fully stocked wardrobe. She briefly wondered why she didn't take advantage of the clothes Ollie had bought for her more often.

Downstairs, she found Black Canary sitting at the table in the kitchen sipping coffee. It was common knowledge that Green Arrow and Black Canary had been a couple for awhile, but it was kind of strange for Artemis to see her combat instructor outside of the training room at the cave. It was like the equivalent of having a teacher date your parent.

"Hello, Artemis," the older blond woman greeted. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks." She leaned against the counter awkwardly. She wasn't sure what to do with herself.

"Coffee's good," Black Canary told her finally. "And I think Ollie has tea."

Artemis rummaged in the cabinet and found the tea. She prepared a cup for herself and sat down next to the older hero. "So…Black Canary," Artemis began. She was stopped by the other woman holding up a hand.

"I think you can call me Dinah outside of training," she interrupted in a gentle tone.

"OK," Artemis agreed. "Dinah, do you know what Ollie wants to talk to me about? He didn't tell me last night and I thought it must be important if he wants to set aside time for it specially. I just want to know if I should be expecting anything bad."

Dinah smiled at the younger girl. "Don't worry so much, Artemis," she said as she got up from the table. "Everything will be fine. Have a good time. I'll see you tomorrow for training." Black Canary made her way through the kitchen and disappeared down the corridor.

When people told Artemis that everything would be fine, nothing ever turned out fine. So there was only one explanation for Ollie wanted to take her out and have a discussion with her.

Green Arrow didn't want her as his sidekick anymore.

She swallowed hard. All of the pieces were there. He hadn't had any tips or pointers for her the night before. He had said she was in good shape. It had seemed like an innocent enough comment at the time, but now Artemis wasn't sure. Maybe Ollie had found someone better to train.

A voice that sounded suspiciously like her father's spoke up inside her head. _'You should have known this was coming,'_ it said maliciously. _'Why would he want to train you? There's nothing special about you.'_

"Stop it," the blond said quietly to herself. The archer forced herself to unclench the fists her hands had made of their own accord. She smoothed down her T-shirt and tightened her ponytail to give herself something else to focus on.

"Ready to go, Artemis?" Green Arrow asked in his cheerful tone as he walked into the kitchen. He was grinning. It didn't seem like the kind of expression someone who wanted to break up a partnership wore.

'_But this is _Ollie_,'_ the girl reminded herself. _'He's always in a good mood.'_ But she had been trained to not let herself get attached to anyone or anything. Artemis put on her very best blank mask and looked up at the hero. "Yes."

The billionaire led the way out to the garage. He was still beaming happily as he opened the car door for her. The younger blond kind of wished he would stop being so damn cheerful. It was kind of insulting that he could be so exuberant when he was planning to stop working with her.

He turned the key in the ignition and carefully backed the car out of the garage. Ollie chattered away as he drove through Star City toward a pancake house he had taken her to once before. Artemis couldn't force herself to pay attention to what the older archer was saying, but she did smile or nod whenever he glanced at her.

They were seated almost immediately. Ollie ordered coffee to start with and didn't speak again until the waitress came back to take their orders. He looked almost thoughtful as he looked at his protégé. He was probably trying to think of the kindest way to break it to her. Above all else, Ollie was a decent guy. She was sure he would never be excessively cruel about anything.

The waitress came back with the mountain of food Artemis had ordered. She knew there was no way she'd finish it all, but she wanted to be a little petty. It wasn't like Ollie couldn't afford to treat her to a Wally-sized meal.

"So, Artemis, I've been thinking…" Ollie started. He looked kind of excited, which was the last straw for Artemis.

"Don't make me quit," she interrupted. "I know there's more you can teach me. I don't want to quit this partnership. I'll do anything. I'll work twice as hard and I'll-"

The Emerald Archer frowned at the girl opposite him. "What are you talking about? Who said anything about you not being my partner?" His expression was genuinely concerned, and it left Artemis feeling stupid.

"Dinah said everything would be fine," Artemis answered in a small voice. "Nothing ever turns out fine when someone says it will. I thought she was trying to comfort me. It made sense. You didn't tell me what to work on and I thought it meant you wanted to be done with me."

"Sweetheart, no," Ollie said. Normally she would not have felt comfortable with the pet name, but it sounded kind of natural coming from him. "I have plenty to teach you. You have tons of raw potential and you'll be able to do a lot with it. What I wanted to talk to you about was college."

Artemis blinked in surprise. That was definitely not what she had been expecting. "College?" she repeated. "What about it?"

"One thing my father always told me was that having a good education was one of the best investments you could make. And I know I'm not your father, but I'm going to tell you the same thing anyway. You're going to be a junior in the fall, right?"

The blond teenager nodded. She still didn't get where her mentor was going with this. Despite everyone in her grade at Gotham Academy being obsessed with schools and majors and everything, Artemis had never really thought about college before. Mostly because before last summer, it had never really been an option for her. She had figured she'd be with the Shadows until she was no longer useful to them.

Ollie smiled again. "Junior year is important," he told her. "I'm not saying you won't have a lot to do to catch up with kids who have been planning their applications since middle school. But you're smart and determined. Plus there's one other thing you have going for you."

"What's that?"

"You have me in your corner."

It was maybe the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her. But she was still confused. "So you want me to go to college," Artemis said to clarify. "What decent school would look twice at me? I mean, look at where I come from."

And then Green Arrow did something she had rarely seen him do. He frowned again and his brows knit themselves together. "You're a special case, Artemis. Maybe you come from a rough place. So what? You're a fighter. You haven't given into that life. You go to Gotham Academy, which is a great school."

"I'm on a scholarship," Artemis pointed out.

He ignored her. "I looked at your transcripts. Since you transferred from Gotham North, there are improvements in your grades clear across the board. Prep school is a big transition and you nailed it. Keep that up and every school you apply to will be offering you a spot."

Artemis still wasn't convinced of the older archer's decidedly insane plan. "It's more than grades though, isn't it?" she questioned. "Don't they want a ton of community service and volunteering?" She glanced around and then added in a lower voice, "It's not like I can put 'Green Arrow's sidekick' on my applications."

"Partner," he corrected. "And it _is_ more than grades. You'll need a good SAT score and an essay that sets you apart. Volunteer work is good, but having a prestigious internship at Queen Industries is better."

"Can you do that? It's not fair to just go around handing out internships to people you know personally."

Ollie shrugged. "I'm the boss," he said. "Plus, you _did_ apply for it. I filled out the paperwork for you."

Artemis was reminded of what her mother had said when she got her acceptance letter to Gotham Academy. Now she was being handed another chance to better her life. And Ollie looked so happy that he could help her and like he genuinely _wanted_ to. She had to at least try now that he had handed her all the tools she needed. "That sounds like a great opportunity," the blond teenager replied. She was parroting Bette Kane, but he didn't need to know that. "Thank you."

The Emerald Archer looked pleased at her acceptance. "You're welcome. It's a paid internship by the way. I thought we could open a college fund for you. I know you want to do things for yourself, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a good quality to have. But there's nothing wrong with needing a little bit of help. That's what I'm here for, right?"

"Yeah," Artemis agreed. "I guess it is."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Those are actual SAT vocabulary words._

_The second part kind of got away from me. Character development? Also, I'm not very good at fight scenes. I hope it turned out alright, even if it's pretty unrealistic._

**Acceptance**

Artemis spent a very good summer in Star City. She trained and protected the city with Ollie, went on missions with the team, and spent a few lazy afternoons by the pool.

Most of her time, however, was spent at her internship. It wasn't a terribly difficult job by any means. Her work days were mostly spent inputting data and fetching cups of coffee. The only thing Artemis felt she had learned from her work experience was that she was sure she didn't want to do anything that required her to sit at a desk all day.

It had definitely been worth it, though. Seeing the college fund Ollie had opened for her grow each week made her proud. Ollie generously matched each paycheck that Artemis earned. The archer had come to accept the fact that Green Arrow had absolutely no problems with sharing the wealth. She'd find a way to pay him back one day.

Now the summer had come to an end. Artemis was back in Gotham with her mom. She was one week into the fall semester of her junior year at Gotham Academy. It had gone pretty well so far. The mountains of coursework the teenager remembered from the previous school year seemed much more manageable now. Maybe it was because she knew how to juggle her academics with her…extracurriculars better than she did before.

The blond girl stood outside the school library on her lunch hour. Ollie had told her the night before that he had arranged an SAT prep tutor for her and that she was expected to meet with him to discuss curriculum and strategies. Artemis would much rather have been seated at the table she frequently shared with Bette Kane and Barbara Gordon, but she had promised her mentor that she wouldn't blow the meeting off. She knew deep down that Ollie was doing his best to help her.

As she waited, she wondered how the older archer could possibly have arranged for a tutor from the opposite side of the country. She marveled at the fact that it seemed there was no door the right amount of money couldn't open.

"Artemis Crock?" an all too familiar voice questioned. She looked down to see Dick Grayson, the resident weird kid of Gotham Academy. She fought to keep from rolling her eyes. She had never understood why he seemed so fond of her. In addition to that, there was something familiar about him. Artemis could never quite put her finger on it, but it was disconcerting.

"I don't have time to play games with you, Grayson," the archer told the younger boy. "I'm supposed to be meeting my SAT tutor."

The boy grinned cheekily. "That would be me," the sophomore informed her. "Your _uncle_ hired me." The emphasis he put on the word "uncle" made Artemis think that he knew Ollie wasn't really her uncle at all. She tried to ignore it. Dick Grayson was a weird kid and he definitely knew more than he should about everyone, not just her.

What Artemis couldn't believe, though, was that her mentor expected her to be tutored by someone who was a grade below her and, to her knowledge, had never actually taken the SATs. "Why are _you_ my tutor?" the blond teenager demanded as she followed Dick up the library steps.

"I come highly recommended," Dick whispered back. He led her through a maze of shelves, computer desks, and study tables to the back of the building. He sat down in an armchair tucked into an alcove. There was an identical chair next to it and a small circular table wedged between the two chairs. The boy motioned for her to sit. She did.

Dick was busy rummaging through his bag for something. Artemis fought to keep her jaw from dropping. She couldn't believe that Green Arrow could possibly think having Dick Grayson tutor her was a good idea. "Have you even _taken_ the SATs?"

The dark haired boy snorted dismissively. "The SAT is a tool designed to measure how well a person can prepare for the SAT. Nothing more, nothing less." He showed her what he had been looking for. In his hands was a stack of work books. They all had titles such as "Preparing for the SATs: What You Need to Know."

She blinked. She had never thought of it like that. It did seem to take off some of the pressure, though. If it was only a matter of being prepared for the test, Artemis felt confident that she could do it. Her whole life had been about being prepared. "I can do that," she told the younger boy.

To her surprise, he gave her what she deemed to be a genuine smile. "I know you can." Then he opened a vocabulary workbook. "Peccadillo," Dick said, jabbing his finger at a spot on the page.

"Um…bless you?" Artemis questioned.

The raven haired youth rolled his eyes. "It's a vocabulary word," he told her. "Study this. Tomorrow I'll quiz you on pages one through five." He handed her a couple of highlighters and an almost thoughtful look crossed his face. "Can you get me your English portfolio? I'll get some sample prompts for you to work on, but I want a better idea of your writing first."

"Yeah, sure," the archer replied. She was feeling the pressure again, but she also had the thought that she could succeed. For the first time, she could see why Ollie wanted her to go to college. She looked over the pages carefully and attempted to calculate how many words she'd have to learn. It had to be close to one hundred.

Dick was packing up his bag again. "Those workbooks are for you. Your uncle sent them." He smiled again. "I know you probably feel overwhelmed, but you shouldn't. I'm a good tutor, and you're smart enough to get this stuff. I'll see you later."

Artemis nodded at the boy's words but didn't look up. she was too engrossed in her workbook. She highlighted a word she was sure she had never heard before and wondered how anyone ever did well on the stupid test. She had barely even started studying for it and she was already wondering how she was going to handle everything she had going on.

'_Dick Grayson thinks you can do it,'_ a little voice spoke up in Artemis' mind. _'And so does Ollie.'_

The blond girl took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She _could_ do this. It would be a lot of work, but the archer enjoyed a challenge. She didn't plan on letting anyone down.

0o0o0o0

The school year was slipping by quickly. It was already December and Artemis was not sure where the time had gone. She was juggling everything pretty well, but it was definitely difficult. Every spare moment she had was spent on preparing for the SATs or double checking her homework. Her grades were good, Dick said her practice tests were improving steadily, and her partnership with Ollie was stronger than ever. Artemis felt like a zombie at times, but the girl knew it would be worth it.

Artemis shook her head. She seemed to be thinking that a lot lately. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. She was currently perched on a rooftop in Star City with Ollie. They were on a stakeout. Green Arrow had heard that the head of a fight club was receiving a shipment of Kobra venom. The trade off was supposed to happen at midnight.

She went over her instructions again. When the trade off occurred, they were to swoop in and prevent it. Hopefully they'd be able to capture the people involved, but Green Arrow's main concern was that the Kobra venom didn't get into the wrong hands. It should be simple enough.

But midnight was still an hour away. Artemis had to admit that she was getting a little bored of waiting. The cold breeze coming in from the bay wasn't helping, either. It was freezing outside. She wished she had the jacket from her arctic uniform.

Ollie crouched beside her, completely silent. He'd been pretty quiet all night. Artemis had no idea what he was thinking about. Maybe he was preparing for the worst when they ambushed the criminals, or maybe he was just thinking about getting home to Dinah. It was hard to tell with Ollie sometimes. Artemis had already proven that she wasn't good at guessing what her mentor was thinking.

Finally, he turned to look at her. "How's it going, Artemis?" he asked. "With your tutoring and your schoolwork and everything? Are you keeping up with it? I know it's a lot. Can I help you with anything?"

Artemis thought for a moment and then nodded. She opened one of the pouches on her belt and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. "These are SAT words I'm still having trouble with. Can you quiz me?"

Green Arrow took the paper from his protégé. "Censorious." Then he frowned. "Is that even a real word? It sounds like a Harry Potter spell."

"It means disapproving or critical." The younger archer made a face. "Like Dick is every time I turn in a practice test."

The older man put a hand on her shoulder. "It's just practice, right? That's what it's for. When the time comes, you'll be ready. I know you will." He smiled.

Before Artemis could respond, there was a sudden movement across the street. The cargo door was being opened. A small man stepped out from the shadows. He was surrounded by a group of thugs. He moved towards a hulking figure – the supplier, Artemis guessed.

"Time to move," the Emerald Archer said. He fired an arrow made for zip lining and slung his bow over it. Artemis followed suit. As the pair of archers descended, Ollie landed a kick to the supplier's face. He went sprawling backwards before falling over.

Artemis almost didn't stick her landing when she saw who it was. "Surprised to see me, baby girl? I have to say, I was hoping I'd run into you." Sportsmaster pulled himself up from the ground. Even behind his mask, Artemis could see the sneer on his face.

"I didn't know he'd be here," Green Arrow spoke up as he shot more arrows at the head of the fight club and the pack of goons. "I understand if-"

"I'm on your side, GA," the teenager said. She dodged an attack from her father and swiped at him in a hard kick. He stumbled and fell again. She took advantage of the fact that he had yet to right himself. She shot more arrows at him to keep him pinned to the cement. Then she turned and attempted to help Ollie take down some of the escaping criminals. "They're out of range. Should we pursue?"

The wail of a siren pierced the air. "Not now," Ollie decided. "We can hand Sportsmaster over, as well as the Kobra venom. Talk to the police when they get here, alright?"

Artemis nodded. It was pretty clear that Ollie was dismissing her. She moved away but turned around when she heard Ollie's footsteps heading towards her father. "I am going to make sure you stay away from her," the Emerald Archer informed the other man. "She doesn't need you messing things up for her anymore."

Sportsmaster smirked. "Think you're a better man than me, don't you Arrow? All the fancy schooling and training you're giving her isn't going to change where she comes from and who she is. Waste of time if you ask me."

"Artemis is better than you," Ollie said quietly. "She's better than where she grew up. She's going to go to college and she's going to have a future. And you aren't going to be a part of it."

If Artemis had been the crying type, she might have shed a tear or two upon hearing Ollie defend her like that. There was definitely a tightness in her throat as it was. She turned away again as the squad car arrived. The young archer relayed the chain of events to the officers.

The police took Sportsmaster and the Kobra venom away. Ollie came to stand beside her once more. "I know that wasn't easy for you," he said.

She looked up at the older archer. "Did you mean it?" she asked him. "That I'm better than all of that?"

"Of course I did."

Artemis felt her mouth turn up at the corners. "Thanks…that means a lot. It really does."

Green Arrow gave her shoulder a squeeze. Then he took out her vocabulary list and consulted it once more. "Here's a good one," he said. "Enervate."

She thought for a moment. "To deprive of force or strength; to weaken." She grimaced. "I feel like that just happened to me," the young blond groaned.

Ollie chuckled. "Let's get you home then." He escorted her through the streets of Star City to the zeta tube disguised as an old phone booth and watched as she stepped inside. "Goodnight, Artemis. You did well."

She bobbed her head and pulled the door shut. It wasn't until she got home that she realized she didn't really know what he was referring to. Then she decided it didn't really matter.

_A/N 2: You guys have no idea how bad I wanted to have Dick say she must be just whelmed. Of course, it would have been too obvious and Artemis would have figured out his secret identity right away. Can't have that, can we?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Acceptance**

Artemis was having a lot of fun saying good-bye to Wally. He was supposed to be heading home so he could go on vacation with his parents for spring break. Apparently, the idea of leaving her behind was unacceptable to her boyfriend, because he kept coming back to kiss her good-bye.

They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. The young heroes looked up to see Green Arrow standing in the training room. Wally let out something resembling a whimper and stopped kissing her immediately. "Nice to see you again, sir," the speedster squeaked. For some reason, Wally had the idea that Green Arrow didn't approve of him and always attempted to walk on eggshells around the older man. Artemis had given up on trying to explain to Wally that she didn't really need her mentor's approval on the boys she chose to date.

"Nice to see you too, Wally," Green Arrow replied. There was a definite hint of amusement in the billionaire's tone. Artemis smirked. It was nice to know her mentor clearly thought her boyfriend was just as crazy as she did. "Have fun with your parents," he added as the speedster high tailed it to the zeta tubes.

Artemis was definitely interested in whatever reason Green Arrow had for showing up at the mountain. The girl perked up at the thought of going on a patrol with Ollie. Things had been quiet for the team lately, and she had gotten the sense that Ollie was trying not to call her as much because she had been so busy with school. The teenager was definitely ready to see some action.

"Need some help with anything?" Artemis asked the older archer. She was attempting to be more subtle and less outwardly eager about getting to work with her mentor. Unfortunately, picking up on subtlety was not always the Emerald Archer's strong suit.

"Not really," Ollie replied. He didn't add anything else to his statement.

That kind of annoyed Artemis. If he didn't need her, why had he shown up at all? All he had done was break up a perfectly good make out session with Wally. Maybe he had just been bored and wanted to do something to entertain himself. "Well, you kind of scared Wally off," Artemis pointed out. She made no effort to hide her annoyance from her mentor.

"I don't know why that boy is so afraid of me," Ollie said, musing. "Anyway, I don't need your help, but I do want to show you something. Do you have time to run over to Star City with me?"

"Well sure, now that I don't have a boyfriend to kiss I have all the time in the world," the young heroine replied. Ollie chuckled and led the way to the zeta tubes. He punched in the code for the zeta tube location closest to his home. The computer read off his name and designation. Artemis followed suit.

Ollie led the way to the car and opened the door for her. As they drove to the mansion, he chattered away. At least that gave Artemis an idea of whatever he wanted to show her. He wouldn't be so talkative if what he wanted to share wasn't a good thing.

"Go look upstairs," the Emerald Archer instructed when he has parked the car in the enormous garage. Artemis climbed the winding staircase to the second floor and headed down the hallway to the room Ollie kept for her.

At first, Artemis thought she had maybe gone into Roy's old room by mistake. It was decorated all in red and white and looked nothing like the room had the last time she had been here.

But upon closer inspection, it was definitely her bedroom. The massive bed with the pile of throw pillows was the same. The dresser held the same clothes Ollie had bought for her. The desk still contained extra SAT workbooks, pens, and a laptop. Only now there was also a thick pile of college brochures stacked beside the mouse pad. At the top of the stack was a brochure for Stanford.

"Explains all the red and white," Artemis muttered to herself. Given that there was now Stanford memorabilia on the walls, a red comforter on the bed, and a Stanford sweatshirt folded neatly in one of the dresser drawers, she had a good hunch as to where Green Arrow wanted her to apply.

She could sense the older archer's presence. She turned to see Ollie with a big grin on his face. He looked pleased with himself. "What do you think, kiddo?" he asked.

"I think you want me to go to Stanford."

Ollie drew himself up proudly. "It's where I went."

"Really?" Artemis couldn't help but sound incredulous. From what she knew, it was a hard school to get into. Ollie had never exactly struck her as the studious type.

"Don't sound so surprised," Ollie said, but he didn't seem too offended by his protégé's incredulity. "I mean, my father had to donate a couple of science labs and a library for me to get in, but it's still where I went." He smiled again. "I thought you could carry on the tradition."

Artemis looked at the brochure again and then glanced through the pile of other schools Ollie had apparently picked for her to apply at. She noticed that the majority of the colleges were in California, only a few hours away from Star City. She hid a smile.

The younger archer looked up at her mentor. "I'll give it a shot," she said. "I haven't really picked one school as a dream school, so it won't hurt to try, right?" The thought that he wanted her to follow in his footsteps filled her with a sense of pride and belonging. It was more than she had ever hoped for when she had agreed to be his partner.

"That's my girl," the billionaire said. "The application is in the desk drawer. You won't regret trying, Artemis. Trust me." He gave her shoulder a squeeze as he passed.

She had a feeling Ollie was right. "Stanford," she repeated to herself. "I can do this."

0o0o0o0

It had been another late night for Oliver Queen. There had been another boring charity function to attend. He couldn't recall what cause he was sponsoring this time. All the Emerald Archer knew was that his beautiful bird was next to him as they climbed the stairs and that there was still entirely too much fabric covering her body.

"That was awful, wasn't it?" he asked conversationally as they reached the landing. The hero looked over his companion in an appreciative way. "You look great though. But I'd bet you look even better without the dress."

Dinah smirked before pressing herself against him and pulling him down for a long, lingering kiss. Then she pulled away unexpectedly. A frown creased her face. "I didn't know Artemis was here."

The archer turned to look at the bedroom door. He could see that the light in Artemis' room was on. "She's not," Green Arrow told his girlfriend. "At least, I don't think she is." He strode down the hallway to investigate further. Dinah followed at his heels.

Ollie pushed open the door. He was surprised to find that Artemis was indeed occupying the room. She was sitting on the desk chair with her arms folded on the table top. She was using her arms as a pillow.

Scattered on the floor were her book bag and clothes. He noticed she had changed into a pair of pajamas. An uncapped highlighter lay next to her, and her workbook was opened to yet another vocabulary list. Seeing that reminded the older archer that Artemis was scheduled to take her SATs in just two days. It was no wonder the poor girl was so tired.

Dinah knelt beside the sleeping teenager and gently brushed back some stray blond hair that had fallen into Artemis' eyes. "Artemis," she whispered softly, "Time to wake up."

Artemis stirred and opened her eyes. They widened as she got her bearings and realized where she was. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I just wanted somewhere quiet to study. I didn't think you guys would mind."

The younger archer sounded panicked, as if she thought she might be in some kind of trouble. "I don't mind," Ollie assured his protégé. "Does your mom know where you are? It's late."

She shook her head. A slightly ashamed look crossed Artemis' face. "I told her I was going to the mountain. I told the team I was staying home. I know it was wrong, but I didn't want to be bothered by anyone. I figured it would be quiet here."

Green Arrow let out a sigh. "You know you're always welcome here, kiddo," he told her. "But you can't lie to your mom about where you are. I'm sure she's worried about you."

"Ollie," Dinah said quietly. It was a hint that he needed to stop talking about it. She looked back at Artemis. "It's late. You should stay here. Ollie will call your mom."

Artemis nodded and started tidying up the desk. She put the pens and highlighters away and closed her workbooks. Dinah unfolded herself from the floor and crossed to the bed. She turned down the blankets and sheets for the younger blond.

Green Arrow took care of calling Paula to let her know of her daughter's whereabouts. She was relieved to know Artemis was safe, but promised to let both archers know they had a big lecture coming from her. He apologized again before hanging up.

He poked his head into Artemis' room again. She was still sitting at her desk and looked like she was well on her way to falling asleep again. Ollie hid a smile as he crossed the room to his protégé. "I called your mom," he told the girl. She murmured something incomprehensible. "I'm only going to cover for you this one time. Don't expect to make a habit of this." There, that sounded stern and mentor-y.

Artemis was slightly more understandable when she replied, "Thanks, Ollie." She folded her arms on the desk and closed her eyes again.

The Emerald Archer lifted the teenager into his arms and carried her to the bed. He pulled the red blankets over her. She was already asleep. Ollie crept across the room as quietly as he could manage. "Goodnight, Artemis," the billionaire whispered as he flicked the light switch off.

He found Dinah in their room getting ready for bed. "Is she asleep?" the heroine asked.

"Yeah," Ollie replied. "Poor kid is exhausted. She must be really worried about the test."

"Artemis wants you to be proud of her," Dinah said gently. "I'm not surprised she's wearing herself out like this." The concern she had for the younger woman was obvious.

"But I _am_ proud of her," the Emerald Archer told the other hero. "She's come so far."

Dinah smiled at him. "I know you're proud of Artemis. I am too. She'll realize that one day." She squeezed his hand.

The heroine was right, of course, she always was. He knew he wasn't Artemis' dad or anything, but he'd come to have a fatherly affection for her all the same. He did want what was best for her, and he also wanted her to be happy. He definitely didn't want Artemis to burn herself out trying to please him.

"She's going to be fine, Ollie," Dinah said reassuringly, as if she could read his thoughts. "Don't worry about her."

He hoped so. He really did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Acceptance**

Artemis frowned as she made her way up the many flights of stairs to the apartment. She had just finished checking the mailbox in the lobby and it was empty. She was starting to get a little nervous. It was spring and college acceptance letters had been mailed out. So far, the newly minted eighteen-year-old had yet to hear back from any of the schools she had applied to.

Acceptance was all anyone in her grade at Gotham Academy could talk about. Bette Kane and Barbara Gordon had both gotten into their top choice school and were working on being paired as roommates. Artemis was happy for her friends, but it was hard to be enthusiastic when she didn't know where she would be in the autumn.

Wally would be in California. He had gotten accepted into Stanford early admission. The archer was proud of her boyfriend; he had earned his spot at the school. But he kept making plans about what classes they could take together and where they could live once they no longer had to live on campus. He had even mentioned wanting to get a dog. It was kind of sweet that he was so into planning things out, but Artemis couldn't help but think it might all be for nothing.

Artemis had reached the front door of the apartment. She turned the key in the lock and let herself in. The teenager dumped her messenger bag on the couch. There was a note on the coffee table from her mother.

_Artemis,_

_The mail came early. I put it on your bed. I went to get groceries for a celebration dinner. I'll be back soon._

_Mom_

She hurried down the corridor at a pace that would rival Wally's speed. Artemis immediately spotted a stack of envelopes on her bed. She had applied to five schools in total. Her odds of getting into one of them, right? The archer hoped that was the case. She didn't want to open the envelopes to find that the admissions department had written, "Haha, yeah right," like they had in a dream she'd had the previous week.

The girl scooped up the replies and studied them for a moment. Artemis remembered how her mom had opened her scholarship letter from Gotham Academy and was surprised to see none of the envelopes seemed to have been tampered with. That was progress, at least.

Artemis leafed through the pile of letters. She shuffled the reply from Stanford to the bottom of the pile. Then she took the letter from the top of the stack and tore it open.

When only the letter from Stanford was left, the archer forced herself to take a deep breath. She'd gotten into two schools and had been rejected by the other two. And she was fine with that. The schools she _had_ gotten into were good schools and she'd get a good education from either of them.

"I can go to the college in Star City," she said to herself. "And it'll be great. I can still see Wally and visit Ollie and Dinah. Stanford was always a long shot."

It was the moment of truth. Artemis grasped the letter tightly and ripped it open. She pulled out the paper from the envelope and unfolded it.

_Dear Ms. Crock,_

_We are pleased to inform you that…_

Artemis didn't bother to read the rest of the letter. "Pleased to inform you" meant she had been accepted. She couldn't believe she had gotten in. She let out a happy shriek. It was unlike her, but the teenager felt she deserved it. She had worked so hard to get this far and she hadn't even really thought she would get in.

Artemis practically dove for the phone. She had to let someone know about the good news. But she knew the closest grocery store got horrible reception, so her mom was out of the question. Due to the time difference between Gotham and Central City, Wally would still be in school for another half hour or so. The happy balloon in her chest deflated a bit.

The answer was so obvious that the archer later wondered if Stanford had made the right choice by accepting her.

Her fingers moved down her list of contacts at lightning speed. She punched the call button and waited impatiently through four rings until he picked up.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?" Ollie questioned when he finally answered. "Is everything alright?"

"I got in!" the teenager announced to her mentor. She didn't bother to attempt to sound cool and collected. She was too excited.

There was silence on Green Arrow's end. Artemis thought maybe the call had dropped. But the timer still counted the seconds away happily when Artemis looked at the screen. "Did you hear me?" the younger archer asked. "I got into Stanford!"

"I did hear you," Ollie replied. "I'm just trying to find the words to tell you how proud I am of you. This is a really big deal."

Artemis was beaming even though she knew that the Emerald Archer couldn't see her. "Thanks, Ollie," the blond said. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"You could have," Green Arrow told her. The sincerity in his tone was obvious. Artemis felt the grin on her face stretch even wider, if that were possible. "How about Dinah and I come out to Gotham and take you and your mom out to celebrate. And you can bring Wally, too. The more the merrier."

It was a nice offer, but Artemis hesitated to accept it. "That's really cool of you," she began, "But my mom went to get food for a celebration dinner."

She wondered if she had hurt Ollie's feelings when he replied, "Oh," in a tone that sounded forced. Hurting Ollie's feelings when he had just handed her the opportunity to get a great education was the last thing Artemis wanted to do.

Artemis found herself hastily adding, "Why don't we go to breakfast over the weekend instead? At the same pancake house as before. Full circle."

"Great idea," Ollie said. The enthusiasm had returned to the older archer's voice. "See you Friday. I'm really happy for you, Artemis. You accomplished a lot."

She felt the same tightness in her throat that she had felt when he defended her in front of her father. "Thanks, Ollie. For everything."


End file.
